Goes to show, just about all bikes today are suitable if they are reasonable quality, what I like the best is peoples reasons for their type of commuting bike, varied!

I use an old Raleigh hardtail MTB, cro-mo, or my newer Fuji hardtail touring MTB with good vittoria tyres for rolling on the hard. With an MTB I can belt it over gutters and other urban obstacles with a bit of immunity to damage, and its not so attractive to thieves. You miss the sheer speed of a road bike though, I'll build another one, one day.

Voted roadie (drops), cause that's what I use 99.9% of the time.For when it is really, really wet my other "bike"? would be under the Other(please specify) category. It's a Repco BSO (mtb with semi-slicks) - supposedly, when new, valued at $275 - It came free as a bonus on a mobile phone plan many years ago.

Cyclocross for me which was my purpose bought commuter. Probably only 70% of the time now as I've been riding the drop bar SS whenever there's a chance of rain. The past few weeks it's almost always been the bike selected.

Edit:

Bikejournal has the actual figures:

Commuting kilometres: 312km on the roadie, 1159km of commuting on the SS and 3167km on the CX for 2010. The CX is 68% of the time while the SS has covered 25% of my commuting kilometres (roadie was 7%).

Not a bad guess of 70% earlier today for the CX bike . Looks like the SS percentage is going to keep climbing.

stevepedlin wrote:With an MTB I can belt it over gutters and other urban obstacles with a bit of immunity to damage, and its not so attractive to thieves.

I hear a lot of people say this as the reason why they ride a mtb around the place, but what's your commute like that you have the need or even opportunity to be jumping over gutters and crap? Maybe I just don't notice because I always ride a roadbike, but I can't think of anywhere on my commute that could be shortened by jumping kerbs or similar. There's the odd bump on the way that's not pleasant seated, but I just get out of the saddle or bunny hop those.

Lethoso, sure I do, its not a lot or often, but it happens, and that's not to say I am riding aggressively or illegally, or have never ridden road bikes to work.

Its a matter of your riding style, and that depends on your riding history and background- if you have been riding only a road type bike for your commute, of course it wouldn't occur to you to ride your bike in a somewhat harder way, you might even be miffed when a MTB rider passes you on the way to work . If you grew up riding BMX competition as a kid, then there will always be a bit of that style of riding in you, and an MTB will handle a little urban commuting punishment that most narrow 700c road wheels won't, simple as that, and a well sorted one isn't even that much slower than a road or hybrid type between the lights or short stretches, it all depends on the rider.

I love road bikes, fixies or geared, don't have one at present due to an upcoming tour of Aus, I've sold them recently. But even when I do I still get a lot of satisfaction from commuting on a well sorted MTB for practical reasons- I can take dirt backroads and rough tracks home if i feel like a change of scenery and want to escape the tintop grind, see?

lethoso wrote: I hear a lot of people say this as the reason why they ride a mtb around the place, but what's your commute like that you have the need or even opportunity to be jumping over gutters and crap?

i commute on an MTB and it comes in handy occasionally, although it's hardly a necessity. kerb hopping is useful at times, as is jumping off the PSP and riding over the adjoining shredded bark when morning golfers on the way to the clubhouse decide to spread their carts across the entire path. gives them a bit a bit of a fright when they hear the bell from a distance, refuse to budge of course, realise that i'm not slowing down then turn around with a slightly panicked look to see me go past off the path. it's the little things that keep me happy

lethoso wrote:I hear a lot of people say this as the reason why they ride a mtb around the place, but what's your commute like that you have the need or even opportunity to be jumping over gutters and crap?

I'm just as likely to ride my roadie or fixed-cross up and down gutters, flights of stairs are a different are a different matter... (but I don't have any of these on my commute)